US worries for Securicor

SECURICOR yesterday played down fears that it could face a multi-million pound compensation claim due to its ownership of the company responsible for security on two of the hijacked flights in the US.

Argenbright Security, which Securicor acquired last year for an initial $185m, is responsible for passenger-screening at Washington (Dulles) and Newark airports.

American Airlines flight 77 from Dulles was hijacked to attack the Pentagon. United Airlines flight 93 left Newark and crashed in Pennsylvania.

A Securicor spokesman said that under Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) regulations, Argenbright was responsible for identifying firearms and knives over four inches long.

"My understanding is that we are talking about penknives and razor knives. They would not have been prohibited under previous regulations. Penknives could have been purchased in the duty-free shops." The FAA has since tightened the regulations.